One Year Ago (Part 6)

"The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to Him in song" (Psalm 28:7).

Continuing to trust in Him!

One year ago today...
(October 31, 2010):

"-had breakfast at the Weygoss (custom ordered pancakes)!
-went to an Evangelical church, but we missed the service and it was too long of a wait until the next service
-went to Edna Mall- kids played in the play area (like Chuck E. Cheese); shopping was next to nil
-went to a silver shop and bought necklaces, earrings, etc.
-ordered lunch from Ice Blue
-went to the Hilton to go swimming
-couldn't find a lounge chair, but a kind young man gave us his chair
-swam in the hot, hot, hot pools (fed from hot springs)!
-Paul napped with Deborah again
-Hilton's not as nice as the Sheraton, but we enjoyed the warm water, reading our books, and eating dinner outside (and doing more shopping)!
-bought more souvenirs (hat, bracelet and necklace, purse (Trish and Nicole), tie (Paul), book, etc).
-still need to buy a couple more dresses, T-shirts, pottery, etc. (can't get enough of the shopping!)
-at night, we packed for tomorrow's excursion and Paul played cards with the kids

Favourite Moment: Deborah crawled tonight!!!!"


-feel safe??!!! -entrance to the Hilton


-in front of the Weygoss Guest House


-Paul was our hero... he changed our flight to 2 days earlier!!!! We're going home!!!(soon)







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-dinner at the Hilton; great place to dine (and shop and swim)!

One Year Ago (Part 5)

"The LORD is faithful to all His promises and loving toward all He has made"
(Psalm 145:13).

This summer, we had the privilege of spending a day with friends whom we met in Ethiopia. It was so great to talk, share experiences, and see how much the girls have grown!! We had a great day with them in Ontario and we had a great day with them in Ethiopia- one year ago!
One year ago today... what a glorious day... waking up with our baby girl!! We had a great day that day.
Here's what I wrote, one year ago:

"In the morning, we played cards, watched Penguins of Madagascar, and Paul and Trish went to the Internet Cafe. After lunch (mugs of soup), we were off to the Sheraton. WOW, it was like walking into a different land. We almost felt guilty, but we LOVED hanging out by the pool (especially after a tough day and night with the culture shock).

The pool was gorgeous (a bit expensive, but we enjoyed it)! The pools were VERY warm. Jesse and Nicole loved the pools and the little slide. They swam and swam for hours. Deborah had a nap with Paul, and then she did lots of swimming too. She LOVES the water.

We met a lovely couple from the US (adopting too) and we hung out with Janice, Thomas, and Mimi later in the afternoon. The girls both loved it in the water and us adults loved hanging out too- so much to talk about!!

We stayed at the Sheraton for a buffet dinner (also rather expensive). Nicole ate about 5 apples!! We said our good- byes to Janice, Thomas, and Mimi. Our taxi driver (whom we love) drove us back for the night to the Weygoss."


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One Year Ago (Part 4) - Gotcha Day!!

"See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands"
(Isaiah 49:16).

Gotcha Day!!!


The day we waited so long for!!! Today we celebrated that momentous occasion. It was a very exciting day, but also a very emotional day. We finally were going to bring home the baby girl that God had chosen for our family, whom He has "engraved on the palms of His hands"!!

October 29, 2010's journal entry:

"After a great sleep by 3 of us (not Paul and Trish), we ate breakfast downstairs (pancakes and eggs). Solomon picked us up and we went to the bank, and then the grocery store to get supplies for Deborah. At the transition home, we received Deborah's medical information and some milestones/achievements. We gave some donations to the nurse, received Deborah's toys that we sent earlier in the spring, and said our good-byes. It was very sad to say good-bye; it was hard for her nurse, but she was very strong.

Deborah loved the van ride. Driving around town is not always the greatest though, because of all the poverty. We especially didn't like the fight that we saw on the side of the road. Deborah fell asleep and had a good nap in my arms while Jesse and Nicole played Phase 10 with Trish and Paul went out to an Internet Cafe.

After lunch, we picked up Janice and Thomas (and little Mimi) Ottawa and Solomon took us to the top of the Entoto Mountain. It was awful to see the women carrying sticks on their backs and to see the children swarming by our van and fighting (literally) when handed out things to them (not a good idea).

Shopping at the market at the bottom of the mountain was a bit overwhelming. Jesse was feeling sick (was very pale) as he was experiencing culture shock again. We went to a different market, and bought lots of souvenirs (dresses, shirts, flags, basket, bowls, scarves, jewelery, giraffe, etc.). The lady who sold my shirt to me was super nice- she sold the shirts right off her back to Janice and myself!!

Solomon dropped us off around dinner time, and we ordered from Ice Blue. After dinner, Solomon took us and Janice and Thomas (and Mimi) to an Ethiopian traditional cultural dinner and show. Jesse wasn't having too much fun, and he was super tired. It was so nice to eat/hang out with Thomas and Janice.

Today was a very busy, full, emotional filled day. Picking up Deborah was unforgettable. Driving through the streets was difficult. The view of the city from the mountain was beautiful. Shopping was exciting, Deborah ate well, slept well and was very happy. This was the day we waited so long for, and it was a GREAT day!

Where we ate: breakfast at the Weygoss, lunch- mug of soup, take out from Ice Blue, and traditional Ethiopian restaurant

Favourite Memories: bringing Deborah home and her falling asleep in my arms!!!; Nicole: shopping- buying my dress and getting Deborah; Jesse: getting Deborah; Paul: picking up our baby!"

-Deborah- not so happy to leave her nurse




-enjoying the drive in the van


-typical past time






-Ethiopian traffic jam

One Year Ago (Part 3)

"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!" (Philippians 4:4)

This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it!!!!!

Today's the day!!! We finally get to meet our baby girl whom God has chosen for us!

This is what I wrote that day:
October 28, 2010

"Wow, wow, wow- what a day! Everything went fine with our flight, other than a minor half hour delay. Upon arriving in Addis, we found (or he found us) our driver-who was from our hotel (Tazina). We were a bit shocked/ surprised to see he that he was driving an old, small Toyoto Corolla. How were we going to fit 11 suitcases and 5 passengers? He found another driver, so Trish and I went with him. Jess had a very concerned look in the back seat when we drove by their car. At one point, we were separated, which was VERY scary. The 2 cars found each other and we arrived at our hotel. It wasn't at all what we were expecting (no hydro, no shower curtains, and NOTHING to walk to- it was a really run down part of town). We didn't know what to expect at all, so we didn't really know how to prepare Jess and Nicole. Well, needless to say, Jesse had extreme culture shock, plus he was very tired and hungry (we had yet to get on a normal eating schedule -Paul was eating a 3 course meal at midnight)! Jesse was very pale and near tears. When we sat in our room, Trish suggested that we pray -we REALLY need to bring it all to HIM who has seen us through this whole experience. God gave us strength and He opened up the opportunity for 2 rooms to open at the Weygoss Guest House!

At 10:30 a.m., Solomon came to pick us up to see Deborah!!!

Paul saw Deborah coming down the hallway and had teary eyes. I couldn't look -I was too nervous/excited. She was a bit overwhelmed with everyone and she didn't like it when her caretaker left her. I was able to feed her lunch and we all took turns holding her. Jesse ate a bit of popcorn (which Curtis would have said, "it's different.") and Paul drank coffee from the coffee ceremony. It was sad to leave, but we knew we'd be back tomorrow to take her with us!!

After our visit, we quickly packed up and Solomon drove us to the Weygoss. We were much happier there (especially Jesse)!! After having 2 different floors, we were moved upstairs and had 2 rooms beside each other with a sharing balcony.

After settling in, we went shopping (at Could Nine) and ate supper outside at Cloud Nine. We watched the sun set behind the mountains. We had a great waiter who was trying to teach us "very good" in Amharic.

We're enjoying the lobby downstairs, where we eat, play card games (Phase 10, and Yatzee Hands Down) and watch CNN.

I can't wait to bring Deborah home tomorrow and I can't wait to see Curtis!

Where we ate: Cloud Nine
Favourite Memories: -seeing Deborah!!
-our fun waiter
-buying our first souvenirs
-other: no seat belts, and everybody's dressed very nicely or very poorly"



-the doors of the transition home opening; our hearts were beating a million beats/minute!!!


-our first meeting!




















Oh, the Lord is good!!